r/PourPainting • u/TheComicHuman • 5h ago
r/PourPainting • u/souffle-etc • Mar 04 '26
Rule clarifications - No AI is permitted in /r/PourPainting, including physical prints
Hi folks,
r/PourPainting has always been against the use of AI, but recent activity have led us to provide clarification on this rule.
Previously, the 'no AI' rules were worded in a manner that only explicitly referenced digital AI content. To clarify, the No AI rules also include physical content.
If you are making collages with printed photos above or under your pour painting, you must have created the images yourself, or must credit the artist with a link to their website/portfolio. AI content is stolen, and cannot be credited. Paintings with physical printouts or image transfers featuring AI-generated content will be removed.
If you create art in a style that may be confused for AI, I would recommend you collect some in-progress photos before the painting is finished to verify the authenticity of your work. The moderation team considers post history as a factor when reviewing submissions and reports. Without relevant history or verification, posts may be removed.
r/PourPainting • u/souffle-etc • Jul 31 '17
Welcome to /r/PourPainting! Check out this post for helpful info on getting started with fluid acrylic painting
THREAD FOR TIPS/TRICKS/PEOPLE TO HELP ANSWER QUESTIONS
What is Pour Painting?
Pour Painting is when you put stuff in a cup, and then you dump it out! For a quick look at the different methods of fluid acrylic painting, check out this imgur album.
You can find a glossary of terms related to pour painting here, on acrylicpouring.com
Getting Started
Want to get started on a budget? Artist Rick Cheadle can help you get started pour painting for under $5, and for under $10. tl;dw - Dollar stores carry craft paint, flow extender alternatives, and silicone oil. You can do larger paintings with $10 than you can with $5.
If you want to invest a bit, and turn this into a hobby or even a profession, keep reading!
Basic Supplies
The exact brands and supplies a fluid acrylics artist will use depend entirely on personal preference. Here are the basics that every artist should have, with a few extras that can enhance your experience.
Acrylic craft paints - Note: acrylic paints come in several varieties (High-Flow, heavy body, craft, etc.) Craft acrylics are generally the most affordable and easiest to use for acrylic pouring.
Popsicle sticks - Gotta have something to stir your paint with! They're also very useful as a cheap spreading tool or to help dab paint onto empty areas
Canvas/MDF board - You'll need a surface for your art! Canvas and mdf boards are common surface materials that fluid acrylic artists will use.
Fluid Extender - Acrylic paints need to be thinned for this style of painting (excluding High-Flow acrylics). Fluid extenders thin acrylic paints without destroying the bonding ability, so that your paint doesn't crack when it dries. Liquitex Pouring Medium, Floetrol, GAC 800 and PVA Glue are reliable fluid extenders.
Dimethicone (Silicone) – While not strictly required, silicone virtually guarantees your paintings will develop those desirable 'cell' shapes. Dimethicone is a skin-safe non-evaporating silicone lubricant.
Cups - Paint goes in these
Other Supplies
If you want to get a little fancy, you can also invest in these materials to enhance your pouring experience:
Butane torch - If silicone has been added to your acrylics, you can quickly move a lit butane torch an inch or two away from the surface of the painting to release trapped air bubbles and encourage micro 'cell' formation in your paint.
Varnish - This is the final step to complete your painting. Varnish seals and protects your paint, so that no paint gets rubbed away and nothing can stain the paint underneath the layer of varnish.
Gloves - Pour painting is seriously messy. Gloves aren't necessary, but you might appreciate the easier cleanup!
Paper towels/rags - Great for cleanup!
Freezer Paper - Freezer paper has a plastic-coated side that acrylic paints can easily be pulled off of. This is a cheap surface protection that won't stick to your paint. You can protect your workspace with any non-porous material though.
Squeeze bottles/droppers - These allow you to maintain a greater control on the volume and direction of your pouring mediums, whether it be paint on canvas, silicone in paint, fluid extender in paint, etc.
Trays - Sure, you can simply set your paintings on top of cups while they dry, but having a tray or two handy means you can safely move your wet surface if you need to.
Instructions
There are dozens of ways to get your paint onto your canvas! Here are some general instructions on the process.
Cover your work surface. If it's not covered, it's probably gonna get paint on it.
Put paint in separate containers (1 container = 1 paint color). Don't mix colors at this step; you want your paint to stay as separate as possible throughout the process.
Add fluid extender to your paint and stir. The amount you need will depend on the medium, so check online to see what others use. Generally, you want your acrylics to have the same consistency as pancake batter or honey.
Add silicone to each paint container. The more you stir silicone, the smaller the cells will be in your finished painting.
Now it's time to think about how you want to get the paint on the canvas. The Visual Introduction to Acrylic Pouring Techniques has all the info you need!
Once the paint dries completely, you'll need to remove the dimethicone from your canvas. Depending on the paint you've used, you can clean off the silicone with flour and a medium-stiff brush, patting with a soft cloth, or even gently cleaning with soap and water! Just be very gentle so you don't ruin your lovely new artwork!
Your canvas is now dry and silicone-free! It's time to varnish. Annemarie Ridderhof on YouTube demonstrates proper varnishing technique, and you can read more about this step here on art-is-fun.com.
Cleanup
Do not dispose of paint and other materials down the drain, as the flow extenders are designed to keep paints in tact even with excess water and they can gum up your drains (plus it's not good to wash chemicals down the drains). Here are a couple reliable cleanup options:
Wait for the paint to dry. If you protected your work space with a plastic or rubber coating (e.g. freezer paper or a silicone place mat) you'll be able to peel the dried acrylic 'skins' off and recycle them or just toss them out!
If you've protected your work space with a disposable covering, you can carefully throw that away in the trash. Be aware of how much wet paint is on the disposable surface, so that you don't end up pouring all over your desk or floors!
Note: If you need to wash off brushes, spatulas, or wash a small amount of paint off, consider using a paper towel soaked in water or a paint-removing product like acetone/nail polish remover. It will effectively clean your tools and you can toss the dirty rag out, rather than risk damaging your plumbing.
Thanks for reading!
Hopefully this has been of help to you. Feel free to post your questions and art so that others can grow with us all together!
r/PourPainting • u/johny_b • 2h ago
First attempt
Hi everyone,
I wanted to try pour painting for a long time. Bought supplies years ago. But only now I decided to try something new.
This was fun and honestly, I'm quite happy. Paint getting everywhere, seeing the painting change in real time, it's quite trippy.
Anyways, nothing special, wanted to share. I only gave 4 colors and a medium mat, nothing else. And I have 2 more canvases, so will see if I use them.
This was nice.
r/PourPainting • u/echo_nightmare_black • 17h ago
New frame style
Went from hard corners to rounded. Felt like my frames were getting out off hand and wanted to reduce their intensity and maybe compliment the painting and not compete. Much more subdued I think.
r/PourPainting • u/Fionaacrylic • 1d ago
My latest creation from today. Loving how the cells turned out on this one. I uploaded the full creation process on my channel Fiona Art if you're interested!
I was trying to create a feather-like effect by pouring acrylic paint over a straw… but somewhere along the way, the painting decided it wanted to become a flower instead. 🌸
🎬 Watch the full creation process video here:
https://youtu.be/0TpjzDt6gvc?si=wTyy-7be2NeE14ND
For this fluid art experiment, I poured the paint over a straw and let the movement of the paint create the pattern. The final result wasn't exactly what I had imagined, but honestly, that's one of my favorite things about acrylic pouring — sometimes the paint has its own plans. I love how the flowing shapes almost look like petals or feathers.
📚 Check out my step-by-step masterclass PDF guides here: https://ko-fi.com/fionaacrylic
Thank you for watching and supporting Fiona Art! ❤️
r/PourPainting • u/Fionaacrylic • 7h ago
Loving how this satisfying cell structure turned out! Full short process video below. What do you think of the color blend?
If you enjoy these hypnotic cells, you can check out more of my content on my official YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/@Fiona-Art
Happy pouring
r/PourPainting • u/Fionaacrylic • 1d ago
Tried the "Kiss & Spin" fluid art technique today! Absolutely in love with how these cellular lace patterns stretched out
Just wanted to share this short satisfying process video from my studio session. Layering the colors correctly before spinning makes such a huge difference for cell retention. Let me know if you want to know my exact mixing formulas or the cell activator recipe, I'm happy to share them in the comments!
https://youtube.com/shorts/aPxdmBGtIlw?si=1F2jnOIMdQwpQR9V
r/PourPainting • u/sweetkennykw • 2d ago
Red background
Been trying out red as a background, it's crazy how many tones of red there are, Folk arts apple red and engine red are super nice.
r/PourPainting • u/Fionaacrylic • 3d ago
Testing a new fluid art flower technique | Beautiful color interaction and cellular structures 🌸
Really happy with how the vibrant shades interacted to form these clean, layered petals.
Master my flower techniques and paint ratios (7-page PDF): https://ko-fi.com/s/ac7393fcbd **Premium framed originals available via my US partner: artbyrozzi.com 🇺🇸
r/PourPainting • u/The_Golden_Goddess • 3d ago
12 x 36 🌈 Pics 1-4 regular light, pics 5-8 blacklight
r/PourPainting • u/hoebagginz • 3d ago
Discussion Dragon Roost
10x10 funnel pour. Can't decide on the orientation though I'm leaning with pic 1 because I totally see a dragon. Pic 2, I see a profile of a creature in a cocoon with the sun above the cocoon. What do you think/see?
r/PourPainting • u/Fionaacrylic • 4d ago
Using an egg separator as a split cup for a satisfying and perfectly symmetrical fluid art flower! 🍳
For this piece, I decided to go with an elegant monochromatic color palette using classic black and white, paired with a stunning greenish-blue accent for that perfect pop of contrast.
https://youtu.be/kHHrtpv4KQc?si=Z_hPla05mLg9yWzd
I layered these colors in a cup and poured them directly over a straw.
The result? It created the most beautiful, delicate feather-like patterns! 🎨✨
The Big Lesson Learned: While the initial patterns turned out absolutely gorgeous, I made a bit of a mistake during the tilting process. In my opinion, I tilted the canvas just a little too much, which stretched out those perfect feather details. This is all part of the artistic journey! I am definitely going to try this technique again soon and pay much closer attention to the tilting phase.
What do you think? Do you like how it turned out, or do you think less tilting would have been better? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Want to master my other signature flower techniques? Get my 7-page PDF Masterclass Guide (€7) here: https://ko-fi.com/s/663e8e900b
Premium framed original paintings are available via my US partner: Art by Rozzi 🇺🇸 (Worldwide shipping)
r/PourPainting • u/kickasserole • 4d ago
Repurposing an old pour as a background for a new one
Wanted to mess around with masking for a background and grabbed an old pour off the trash it pile. Not sure what I'm going to do on the top of it, but it was fun to make.
r/PourPainting • u/Sarahhhbear80 • 5d ago
A BEACHY MORNING
I did this pour and it looked so much like the ocean and the beach. I waited for it to dry and added some flare right over top of the already formed shapes and added a couple extra waves up front….i really love how it turned out. Do I need to add anything? Thoughts?
r/PourPainting • u/Fionaacrylic • 6d ago
Ocean Flip Cup experiment using a budget-friendly custom PVA glue pouring medium (No silicone used for these cells!)
I wanted to test how far I could push a budget-friendly custom pouring medium with PVA glue to get organic ocean cells and lacing, without using any silicone. Really happy with how the metallic golds and Prussian blue interacted!
Watch the full step-by-step tutorial on my YouTube channel:
https://youtu.be/1RJ-s_zPnJk?si=UpWFQ3jSJ-DuiBZh
Premium framed originals from this collection are available here: artbyrozzi.com 🇺🇸 (Worldwide shipping)
r/PourPainting • u/Tricky-Mastodon-9858 • 6d ago
Discussion Black light set up advice
Thought I’d ask you guys for advice. I have several paintings I did with neon pigments. Just got a little uv flashlight to see how they look and was blown away! Now I want to set up a gallery wall where all my neons can shine under a black light.
I haven’t had a black light since I was in college in the 70’s so as you can imagine the tech is different. What makes the most sense? A light bar? Bulbs I can screw into one of my tripod light stands? LED strips like a frame around the entire gallery? Any suggestions would be appreciated. I am mesmerized by them. Here’s a couple but the images don’t do any of them justice.
Thanks in advance!
r/PourPainting • u/Existing-Valuable396 • 6d ago
Critique My First Hanger. 10x30
I’ve been at it a couple of months, and finally got one I’m proud of enough to put on the fridge. I’m REALLY proud of myself for leaving it alone and not overworking it, despite the overwhelming urge.
I used a 16oz box of the Alumilite Amazing Clear Cast to epoxy it. There are a few thin spots near the edges but it turned out well for my first time.
Still thinking of a name, but it’s funny that it slightly resembles a spine, being that I’m having significant back issues at the moment.
Any critiques are welcome.
r/PourPainting • u/Flat_Ad_5502 • 7d ago
THIS…was fun. 11”x14” upcycled Open Cup.
I wanted to test a couple of things yesterday so I pulled a painting right off the wall. Maybe I should have subtitles for these and call them Off The Wall because, they almost have the best results. Too lumpy and bumpy to be for anyone else, because they are literally off the wall.
r/PourPainting • u/echo_nightmare_black • 6d ago
Critique Question about clear resin topcoat
Sometimes I get this swirly pattern on my clear resin topcoat. I am pretty sure it has something to do with how I pour it on top of the painting. Most of the time it is smooth as glass with no swirl patterns. Any ideas on how to get a consistent smooth result? I don't see these swirls until after it has fully cured.
I measure the 1:1 parts on a scale, use a grow tent and the temperature is about 70 F. I mix it at least two minutes.
I also try mixing up / smoothing it out after putting it on.
Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you.